UNDERSTANDING THE CHURCH—THE BEAUTY AND ABILITY OF A HEALTHY BODY

Sweetly may we all agree,

Touched with loving sympathy;

Kindly for each other care,

Every member feel its share.

Love, like death, hath all destroyed,

Rendered all distinctions void;

Names, and sects, and parties fall:

Thou, O Christ, art all in all.

[Charles Wesley]

Of all of God's creation, there is nothing to compare with the human body and the soul that indwells it.

The Psalmist says:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Ps 139:13-16

Humanity is the crown of God's creation, because they are created in the image God.

Then God said, “Let us make manin our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen 1:26-27.

What an awful day it must have been when this creation was marred by sin.

The apostle uses the human body to reveal something of the beauty of the church.

Eph 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

The 'we' in "For we are His workmanship," are the children of God redeemed by His blood.

This new creation is made up of people from every nation and tribe and language.  The love of God has destroyed all distinctions. We no longer see people from the world's point of view. Let us never allow the world to squeeze us into its mould, as we see in Rom 12:1. Let our ears be attuned to Christ and not to the world.

When men and women are converted, we do become a new creation and are made part of the body. This body has a wonderful Head, the Lord Jesus Himself. When  we are in a truly Bible-based body, made of believers, we are in the local expression of the body of Christ. That is why people who profess to be Christians must join themselves to a local body where they can grow and serve.

Vs 15 says: "we are to grow up in every way into him."

We must be a people who are continually growing in grace, not remaining as spiritual babies. We must grow up into Him. The pastor-teachers teach so that the members of the church grow in this way. They must not grow in any other way but must grow up into Jesus. Not into the Pastor-teachers or not even into the apostles, but into the Lord.

We can find out what the word into means by looking up other verses in the Bible that include this word. Matt 2:11,

We must compare scripture with scripture, with the help of a concordance, so we can understand how certain words have been used.

Matt 2:11: And going INTO the house, they saw the child

Matt 4:12: Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew INTO Galilee.

So growing INTO Christ shows an intimate relation.

We are to grow up INTO Him, growing in every way more and more like Christ who is the head of the body. How do individuals grow in this way? This comes from sound Biblical instruction and an eager desire to submit to that instruction. The Spirit prompts and leads us as we study the word.

We are called to grow into our Saviour and "high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens." Heb 7:26

We are to grow into the One who ransomed us "not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Pet 1:18-19

"For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps." 1 Pet 2:21. Within the local body, when every member is working properly, the body grows.

In South City, God in His sovereignty has brought us together from all over the world and from different backgrounds and has united us together. If you are a part of this church, you have a vital part to play, and you should do it for the body to function properly.

It is just like when you wake up well and with your body functioning well, you are on top of the world. But if you wake up with a sore back and a thumping head ache a well as a toothache, you know that the day ahead is going to be hard. So too, the various mebers of the church must faithfully do their part for the body to work properly.

The future of this church is in the hand of God. Every member needs to function well with each other. This is what Spurgeon said.

"The Church is not an institution for perfect people, but a sanctuary for sinners saved by Grace, who, though they are saved, are still sinners and need all the help they can derive from the sympathy and guidance of their fellow Believers. The Church is the nursery for God’s weak children where they are nourished and grow strong. It is the fold for Christ’s sheep—the home for Christ’s family.”

"Still, imperfect as it is, it is the dearest place on earth to us." [Spurgeon]